Something about Sailors
by Rat Mouse
Summary: There's a Girl who's just going to be difficult, A Cousin who wants to stay lost and a Leader who just wants to throw up his hands and give up on them all.


Disclaimer and such: I don't own the movie newsies or the charactors held within it, Disney does, though they generally wish they didn't and claim no real knowledge of it. I still do not own it. So Spot is theirs. However the others you haven't heard of before are mine. You take them you have to deal with one very angry vampiric moose and one very agitated zombi pegasus Beware the rabid salmon of doooooom. 

  
  


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The sun shown down, heating the roofs and pavement and dust clouds rose from passing horses, carriages, and those newly fashioned automobiles. Foul stenches admitted from alleyways as people bustled by carrying baskets of goods. Shop doors stood open admitting the occasional breeze, welcoming shopper to stop and ogle their merchandise. Ah, New York! The land of opportunity!  
  
Bah! I had lived in this city for a great deal of my life and I had yet to get even a distant gimps of this so called opportunity. All this city had offered me was a torn apart family and provided a place to simply disappear from the troubles from the former offer, though even that never lasted.  
  
So there I was left, navigating the streets of the borough called Brooklyn, searching for some odd job I could do. Turning a corner I recognized a street so I set to weaving my way through the diminishing crowd, working my way to the shipyards, which always seemed to have more then enough work for too few helpers and I, not being apposed to a little manual labor, would surely be asked to do something.  
  
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After a good deal of lifting and a great amount of sweating the light of day faded even more, already hindered by thick gray clouds that threatened a downpour at any second. Hurrying I collected my earnings and rushed away, searching for a shelter for the night.  
  
The first two warehouses I checked had night guards just coming on shift so I supposed they must be filled, the third was already inhabited and by then a light mist had already begun to fall. I knew that in a short while I would be caught in a complete downpour so I headed towards my backup, an old semi-rundown building on Furman Street. It was last on my list of places to stay because it generally always had tenants, but it was mainly dry. As far as I have gathered it was a boarding house of sorts, probably full of half drunken sailors and a few decent ones trying to sleep. I wouldn't chance their company, though, it was all too dangerous, and I could only imagine what they'd do to me if they found out that I was a girl.  
  
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Slowly I made my way up the fire escape, careful to avoid the places that creaked and being seen from a window. Once past the second floor I made a mad dash for an attic window and started closing it just as the clouds opened up to pour out the first fat drops of a true storm and the view was only shadows. 

Though I hadn't stayed in this place too much I had been here often enough to know which boards creaked and where plenty of bits and scraps of stuffing, mattresses, pillows and blankets were that I had a cozy little nest made up for myself in a corner in no time. 

Striping off my slightly soggy outer clothes I settled down, munching a piece of bread I had gotten earlier. I had by then given up on the idea that I might have gotten a few drawings in before I slept, it was too dark now to see anything for I had no hope of the light of the moon and stars reaching me through the blanket of clouds that now covered the entire sky and I didn't dare chance the light of a candle when there still maybe someone to see it. I loved to draw, you know, but it was to dim for anything really now so I sat in the dark contently nibbling at my bread, listening to the rhythmatic drumming of the rain upon the roof until sleep gently drifted over me.  
  
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Running, I was forever running though a black void. Something was chasing me, though I didn't dare turn to glimpse it lest I give it the few seconds more it needed to ensnare me. So I kept running from my unknown monster, running towards something that I could not see though, I thought, if I ran fast enough perhaps I may reach it. So I kept running, absolutely alone, being chased by an unknown daemon, trying to reach an invisible safe haven. Wether in a few more seconds I would have been caught or I would have reached my destiny I would not know. My mind flew awake with a jolt of brightness reaching my eyes as I scrambled out of my tangled blanket upwards, my arms smashing into a carelessly perched box, sending it tumbling to the floor. Then I cringed, noise like that was never good.

Voices drifted up to me and I vaguely heard a What was that? And other variations of the saying. And that was when I remembered where I was. "damn" I hissed to myself suddenly springing out of my cozy nest, trying, without success to gather my things and shove them into my bookpack. 'They can't find me! They can't find me! They can't find me!' was all that could run through my head over the string of curses from my stupid dreams and my own stupidity. I pulled on my shorts, tugged on my shirt and shoved the rest of the evidence of my being here into my bag 'Hurry hurry'. Creeks and voices on the stairs 'hurry hurry'. I froze as the doorknob slowly turned "Sh..." came a harsh whisper "I think someone may be up here" 

"Damn" I glanced towards the window and knew immediately that I could not make it in time. My eyes glanced furiously back to the now almost open door and I cursed myself for sleeping in a room with not enough places to hide.

Dropping my bag I sprang into action, swiping my knife from its snug leather sheath nestled along my calf. Taking a defensive stance, I silently hoped that the men behind the door were too hungover to care about one little girl sleeping in their attic. Because I knew from experience, as evidence from a long scar bumping it's merry way along my right arm from nearly elbow to wrist, that sailors could be vicious fighters.

"Who the hell are you!?" demanded a thin boy with a dusty blond mop for hair when his eyes finally came to rest on me. While my mind hoped to some deity that I could find my way out of the corner I had stowed in, for if it did indeed come to a fight that corner would bring about my downfall.

"No one" I heard myself answer gruffly- cold eyes narrowing at the speaker and his companions.

The boy narrowed his eyes at me "then what are you doing here?" he asked sizing me up and analyzing my 6 inch blade. "Put that down, we're not going to hurt you unless you start something" 

I ignored his question as well as the order, not moving from my position.

"Well we already know you can talk" the thin boy said as the others took an advancing step "so don't pretend you can't" 

I glanced at him then over at the window, edging towards it "sleeping" I replied shortly.

The boy arched an eyebrow "oh really?"

"Yeah" I spat back out at him all the while edging even closer to that window, my only hope for escape.

"So why here?"

"It's dry isn't it?!" I glared at them both then grabbed my pack and made for the window.

I made it halfway down the fire escape when the unexpected happened: I collided with another and went tumbling down a few steps before I crash landed on one of the escape platforms.

I may have a hard head but apparently the steal platform was harder, because I then saw nothing but the black hand of unconsciousness cover my eyes. 


End file.
